A Florida construction company owner was sentenced to four years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $55 million in restitution after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including wire fraud conspiracy, tax evasion, and violating workplace safety standards that led to a worker’s death.
M.D.P., 54, of Wesley Chapel, also forfeited over $5.5 million in assets, including real estate and cash, as part of his sentencing. He admitted to operating a long-running scheme that employed undocumented migrant workers without proper insurance coverage or tax withholding through his company, Domingos 54 Construction.
According to court documents, M.D.P. underreported the number of workers employed by his subcontracting firm, which specialized in wood framing for residential construction, to avoid paying workers’ compensation insurance premiums and federal employment taxes. The scheme, which ran from 2018 to 2022, resulted in more than $22.7 million in lost insurance premiums and $33.7 million in unpaid federal employment taxes.
Prosecutors said M.D.P.’s repeated disregard for safety regulations contributed to the death of one of his employees. In March 2020, a worker assigned to a roofing job without fall protection gear fell to his death during high winds. The incident followed six previous citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) between February and July 2019 for failing to provide fall protection.
“(M.D.P.’s) history of OSHA violations and deception tragically led to a worker’s death,” said Adam Gustafson, principal deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division.
Federal officials said the case illustrates the dangers of labor exploitation and the financial harm caused by avoiding tax and insurance obligations.
“The defendant engaged in a deliberate scheme to defraud insurance companies, the government and evade taxes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Sara C. Sweeney for the Middle District of Florida. “Flagrant violations of OSHA safety standards put workers at unacceptable risk.”
The case was investigated by multiple agencies, including the FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Insurance Fraud, and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General.
